Warning of complacency, Dr. Rochelle Walensky says that kids in the K-12 setting need to continue to mask up for the foreseeable future, a pronouncement that many Twitter users hardly consider a breath of fresh air.
During a press briefing, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated that the federal government is working toward scaling up a “pediatric” vaccination program.
“That said,” Walensky continued, “it will take some time, and…as we head into these winter months, we know we cannot be complacent. We also know that from previous data that schools that have had mask mandates in place were 3-1/2 times less likely to have school outbreaks requiring school closure. So right now, we are going to continue to recommend masks in all schools for all people in those schools…”
The CDC recommends schoolchildren 12 and older get the COVID-19 vaccination (this age group is currently eligible for the Pfizer variety). From the sounds of it, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization for those in the ages 5-11 cohort could be right around the corner. Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom has already imposed a vaccine mandate on public and private grades 7 and up, prompting protests by thousands of parents and teachers.
Watch:
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky says that they will continue to recommend schools have mask mandates even after the FDA approves vaccinations for children:
"As we head into these winter months, we cannot be complacent." pic.twitter.com/jFd5heAkvg
— X Strategies LLC (@XStrategiesLLC) October 20, 2021
Under current CDC guidance, “Due to the circulating and highly contagious Delta variant, CDC recommends universal indoor masking by all students (age 2 and older), staff, teachers, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.
“In addition to universal indoor masking, CDC recommends schools maintain at least 3 feet of physical distance between students within classrooms to reduce transmission risk.”
Back in August, the liberal New York magazine, in an article headlined “The Science of Masking Kids at School Remains Uncertain,” called attention to an underpublicized CDC study of 90,000-plus elementary-school students in 169 Georgia schools.
“Distancing, hybrid models, classroom barriers, HEPA filters, and, most notably, requiring student masking were each found to not have a statistically significant benefit. In other words, these measures could not be said to be effective,” the magazine claimed. The principal conclusions of the CDC report included that masking up teachers and staff reduced COVID incidence by 37 percent. Improved ventilation lowered the incidence by 39 percent.
Liberal New York Mag cites large study suggesting no clear benefit from school mask mandates https://t.co/ISNF3aLGKq pic.twitter.com/QMdoRm71xT
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) August 23, 2021
Earlier this month in the sound bite embedded below, Dr. Walensky told CNN that the COVID vaccines no longer can prevent the transmission of the virus, even though the shots are otherwise working “exceptionally well.” Under certain circumstances that she outlined, masks are a good idea in crowded indoor settings, Walensky asserted.
CDC director Rochelle Walensky says that the vaccine *cannot* prevent transmission. So why are all these Pro-Vaxxers saying that it can? pic.twitter.com/8aaDTh8N3T
— Anthony Brian Logan (ABL) 🇺🇸 (@ANTHONYBLOGAN) October 2, 2021
Critics of vaccine and mask mandates during the pandemic have consistently maintained that these initiatives are more about control of the populace rather than public health. Walensky’s latest statement is hardly going over well with them with that in mind. Here is a sampling:
The rage. https://t.co/QlIJGs1gj2
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) October 20, 2021
Vaccines work so well that we need to continue to mask the lowest risk population even after they have it. Great messaging…
— Pat D (@PatrickFWO) October 20, 2021
CDC Doctor: Why yes, I am anti-vax. How did you know? https://t.co/XSwltnkoND
— Physics Geek (@physicsgeek) October 20, 2021
Other developed countries have numerical targets (of vaccination, and/or community spread), after which the masks come off kids (which they already have in many places), because they acknowledge both risk assessment and real-world trade-offs. We oughtta look into that. https://t.co/kvmM96wlEA
— Matt Welch (@MattWelch) October 20, 2021
There are no off ramps. There is no sanity. https://t.co/AOI5fDR4Jv
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) October 20, 2021
.@bethanyshondark called it.
Americans who keep doing what they’re told because they think THIS will be the thing that FINALLY gets us “back to normal” are delusional.
They will not stop. https://t.co/vwboj47MU9
— Lyndsey Fifield (@lyndseyfifield) October 20, 2021
many school districts’ logic was to keep mask mandates bc vaccines weren’t yet an option for kids, the cdc continues to be terrible at this https://t.co/ig6ksq3EAe
— cc (@cc_fla) October 20, 2021
Translation: In non-red states, kids, who should NEVER have been forced to mask, will be forced to mask FOREVER…
This is THE dumbest policy of the entire pandemic (and there is a LOT of competition!).
BTW, this is further proof they do not even think the vaccines really work!
— John Ziegler (@Zigmanfreud) October 20, 2021
Where is the science, data to bsck this up?? Kids literally wear each others mask, never wash them, and rarely have them on properly.
— Mike (@fritdog23) October 20, 2021
It’s never going to stop… https://t.co/VTNh0KmiAP
— Aaron Ginn (@aginnt) October 20, 2021
I shouldn’t be, but I am stunned by how bad she is at her job. However, if this polls bad in sectors that matter, someone from the administration will have a chat and they will modify the messaging because….I give up
— He Might Be Jay (@JBisAlwaysRight) October 20, 2021
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